


Pick a Card . . .

by Inkribbon796



Series: Masks and Maladies [133]
Category: Crankgameplays fandom, Jacksepticeye Power Hour (Web Series), Markiplier TV (Web Series), Sanders Sides (Web Series), natewantstobattle fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders Has Panic Attacks, Casual Murder, Footnotes, Gen, Kidnapping, M/M, Magic, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Subterfuge, Threats, characters will be added as it goes on, local gremlin exploited for interrogation purposes, no harm comes to the doggo, superhero au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-05
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-17 19:36:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 6,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29846466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inkribbon796/pseuds/Inkribbon796
Summary: Requested by DorkSpader on AO3.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil/Creativity | Roman/Logic | Logan/Morality | Patton, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders/Deceit | Janus Sanders, Darkiplier/Wilford Warfstache | William J. Barnum | The Colonel
Series: Masks and Maladies [133]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1538131
Comments: 35
Kudos: 9





	1. The Dealer

**Author's Note:**

> Requested by DorkSpader on AO3.

The room was Dark with a single light overhead illuminating the dealer as he smoothly shuffled a new deck of cards in his hands. The only sound in the room was the soft tapping of cards against each other.

Then the dealer set the deck on the table:

♣️ A 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 J Q K

♥️ A 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 J Q K

♠️ A 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 J Q K

♦️ A 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 J Q K

🎭 (Joker: 1, 2)


	2. Queen of Spades

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spade meets the Light Sides.

_Date Archived: March 20, X_

_Uploading information_

_Starting sequence_

The four Light Sides were taking a slow patrol around town. Or three of them were, Logan had been looking for something in particular.

“Come on Lo,” Roman smiled. “It’s quiet tonight.”

“I know, that’s the problem,” Logan commented. “It has been approximately fifteen days, seven hours, and three minutes since I’ve seen either Deceit or the Duke, and months longer since we’ve seen Orange. In that time no one has seen or heard from them. Yet their contacts react as if this is normal. Something is wrong.”

“I get you,” Roman agreed, unhelpfully, “they’re up to something.”

Logan groaned, “No, I don’t think they are. Deceit, maybe, but the Duke could never withstand the spotlight being off him for so long.”

In their walk, Logan noticed something peculiar, stopping to look to his left. “Has there always been a theatre house on this street?”

Roman had been a few feet in front of Logan but stopped dead to rush back and stare in excitement. “Ooohhhhh! A home of the arts I have not visited. I am ashamed of myself.” He placed the back of his hand dramatically on his forehead.

“It looks abandoned,” Patton observed.

“Looks haunted,” Virgil chimed in.

Logan was quiet, the little two story building did look like it was in a bit of disrepair.

“A house of muses and laughter left in such a sorry state,” Roman lamented as he walked forward. “Whomst hath abandoned you, my sweet?”

Logan cleared his throat, “Princey, kindly search for any illusions before we stumble into what is very clearly a trap.”

Roman frowned, magic already at his fingertips, “You’re no fun.”

After a couple of minutes Roman deemed the place safe and the Sides slowly began to enter. Roman and Patton walking in the front and Virgil hanging back a step or two in the rear of the group. The three naturally surrounding Logan protectively.

The front room had a doorway to a little auditorium and a hallway that looped around to the back. There was some quiet talking going on from the dilapidated theater room.

_“. . . is presenting to you . . .”_

“Who is it?” Virgil asked.

“Shhh,” Roman hushed, placing a finger to his lips as the talking continued. As they approached the volume got louder until they reached the open doorway of the auditorium.

 _“Introducing,”_ the speakers continued to crackle and the room made an odd echo. _“The only marionette that can sing and dance absolutely without the aids of strings.”_

“Ooooh, ooooh,” Roman recognized in excitement as he grabbed onto Patton’s arm in excitement. “Pinocchio! It’s Pinocchio.”

 _“The one and only: Pinocchio,”_ the audio continued as slowly the stage lights began to click on to slowly reveal that there was a lone figure in almost all black standing in the direct center of the stage. The silvery-brass spade symbol on the chest.

“What a build-up!” Roman cheered in time with the recording, the lights dying down as the spotlight began to swirl around the stage to show the figure wasn’t moving. The audio, still going.

 _“I’ve got no strings to hold me down,”_ the audio continued. _“To make me fret or make me frown. I had strings, but now I’m free.”_

The audio loudly clicked off and two spotlights landed on Spade.

“There are no strings on me,” the figure finished on the recording.

Roman loudly clapped in excitement, jumping a little bit, “Excellent! Brava! Good show.”

Spade didn’t speak but Virgil and Logan felt distinctly uncomfortable as the figure just stood there.

Then Spade said, “Hello . . . Logic.”

Anxiety ducked nervously, tucking into his hood further. He muttered, “I don’t like them.”

Roman pouted, clearly unhappy with not being paid attention, “If you have come to attack us, need I remind you that there are four of us, and only one of you.”

“I assure you, I am not the one with the odds against them,” Spade remarked.

Patton chuckled, “Odds, _hah,_ he’s wearing a playing card.”

Logan rolled his eyes.

Unbeknownst to the heroes, behind Spade’s face covering was a smile, his mind made up. He took a couple steps and just walked off the stage. Virgil got more nervous as Roman pulled out his sword in excitement.

Virgil, for a reason he couldn’t articulate, felt mounting dread as Spade began to approach, starting to spiral into a panic attack with every step the figure took towards them. A situation that was becoming even more unbearable as he watched the other Sides prepare for a fight.

The anxious Side screamed in panic, his aura making the room start to darken and go hazy around him. His aura shot towards the figure, passing over the other Sides harmlessly as they covered their ears.

Spade recoiled the instant the aura made contact and clutched at the Spade symbol at his chest before running into the darker stage.

The other three Sides helped evacuate Virgil out to the sidewalk, trying to help Virgil calm down.

“I’m sorry guys, I don’t know what happened,” Virgil shakily apologized as Patton helped calm him down.

“We shall duel again,” Roman promised, admiring his sword. “It shall be glorious.”

“I think more credit should be given to Anxiety,” Logan commented. “I have seen images and security footage of them all over town. They are incredibly dangerous as they have been the suspect of several murders of various demon hunters.”

“How awful, it’s bad enough that the demons do that,” Patton commented.

“Murders aside, does that make us friend or foe?” Roman asked.

Patton gasped, “Roman.”

“I never said the murders were a good thing,” Roman defended. “Murder bad, murder is bad. But is this Spade character _our_ villain?”

“Yes,” Virgil decided. “He . . . I don’t know how or what he was going to do, but he was going to do something.”

“I believe you,” Logan promised immediately, and Virgil looked so relieved that it hit Logan, metaphorically, in the heart.

Virgil nodded, taking a shaky, “I don’t want to be here anymore.”

Roman’s sword immediately disappeared and he offered his hand down to Virgil. “Then let us be off, my emo nightmare.”

Virgil managed a small smile and took Roman’s hand, allowing Roman to help him up. Their fingers meshed together as Virgil leaned in a bit closer to Roman’s side for comfort. His arm was linked with Roman’s and Roman just kept talking to fill the dead air. 

As they left the figure watching them from the theater house was watching them go. He turned off the audio equipment to study it for a bit. Everything that the Sides had said around or in the theater house recorded in perfect detail. There was some background noise but it was the Side’s voice he wanted.

Spade activated his communicator, “Mission accomplished, I will be back at the outpost within the hour.”

Spade left the theater house, taking care to make sure he was only seen in his dark outfit and headed off into the night. The Sides’ voices sounding in his ear piece to be used for dissection. Every syllable having a possible use . . .

. . . A possible lure. Spade had failed this time, but failure was only an opportunity to grow. To adapt. To evolve.

To make sure the next chance would work out in Spade’s favor.

_End of Sequence_

_Conclusion: Virgil must be removed before confronting Patton._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All these chapters are told during the arc but most of them will be out of order on upload. After it’s done I might go back and reorder them chronologically.


	3. Seven of Clubs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clubs threatens the hunters, mainly the hunters’ guild master.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Requested by Mizuwolf on AO3.

_Date Archived:_ _March 17, X_

_ Uploading information _

_ Starting sequence _

A lone figure stood on a busy street, clad in all black from head-to-toe, and a large silvery-brass clubs symbol on his chest. In one hand was a pocket watch, and in another a picture. It was his constant reminder, his lover and their twins.

A reminder not to fail.

Spade’s voice crackled over his ear piece,  _ “Five minutes out.” _

“Roger that,” Clubs put the watch and the picture away. Both objects sinking into previous invisible pockets. Clubs’s voice was as distorted as Spade’s and the other’s voices. “How many did you have to kill to get the head honcho out? Even Dark hasn’t gotten that yet.”

__ _ “Enough, _ ” was the only answer Clubs received.  _ “I’ve found that it’s less about the quantity and more about how those kills are executed.” _

“Demented fucker,” Clubs chuckled. “You know you shouldn’t play with your food. Remind me to grab a smoke before Heart shows me the pictures.”

__ _ “I’m not going to eat them,” _ Spade insisted.

“Sure,” Clubs joked and turned off his communicator when he was surrounded by cloaked figures who, instantly and without any preamble or warning, fired magic at him.

“You’re going to need better tricks than that,” Clubs smiled, using his hands to cast a shield. He’d been already standing in a protective circle that dampened magic before it reached him, so the suit could easily bat the magical blasts away.

Clubs just stood there for a bit before black, smoke-like magic came from his hands and formed a massive golem that stood behind him, it was holding a sword. “How many have to die today guild master?” Clubs dared. “I’m not the one who’s just come from a fight for their lives against Spade. I count three tired mages already.”

“Stand down,” the hunters’ guild master ordered in frustration.

Slowly the magic in the area dissipated and only after the last mage dropped their hands did Clubs dispel his golem.

“You’ll have to forgive my associate,” Clubs told them. “Spade hates your guts.”

“What do you want?” The hunter’s guild master demanded.

“Remove the guild from the entire city,” Clubs ordered. “You have no idea how precarious the situation in Egoton is.”

“And leave this city to the demons?” She scoffed. “It is already infested beyond saving.”

“Then you will make it your grave,” Clubs promised.

“Unlike my predecessors I would rather die than leave my post,” the guild master promised.

“Fine by me,” Clubs allowed, the distorted voice as calm as the voice box allowed. “I don’t care either way if you in particular live or die. In fact, if you did die it might make things easier for me.”

Clubs broke the circle and walked out, “Don’t try and look so defenseless when Spade sees you, it’ll make the frequency of attacks go up.”

The guild master glared at him and Clubs chuckled, turning and walking away. The hunters left in frustration. Clubs didn’t actually go that far, heading to an alley not too far away. Spade was waiting for him.

“You didn’t kill her,” Spade questioned, and Clubs knew him enough to know he was furious.

Clubs started to walk away, with his back turned it was almost a dare for Spade to attack him. “So long as she kills who I need her to kill, she’s useful. Kill the others but leave the guild master and her apprentice.”

“And if I kill them anyways?” Spade dared.

The other suit made an obvious shrug, “Then I get my own hands dirty.”

“No, I doubt think you will,” Spade followed after him. “Most of our failures up until this point have been because you thought with your heart instead of your mind. I do not want to keep doing this.”

“I’d strangle that bastard in his sleep with my bare hands,” Clubs proclaimed. “Besides, I’m not the only one who can’t think logically. You lost your mind last time.”

Spade naturally balked at that, continuing to argue his point as the two began to head to their next rendezvous point.

There were things to do, things to plan, and mostly a glitch demon the suits had to meet up with and to speak with about certain things.

_ End of Sequence _

_ Conclusion: More hunters need to be culled from the city, Clubs’s conclusions notwithstanding. _


	4. The Two of Spades

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spades and Orange have a meeting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Requested by DorkSpader on AO3.

_ Date Archived: March 5, X _

_ Uploading information _

_ Starting sequence _

Of all the things Orange expected at four AM, a visitor was not one of them. Homeless people and transients often came through the area but they knew by now to leave Orange alone. All he wanted was to be left alone.

This morning he woke up to something painful hitting him directly in the face.

Orange’s eyes saw a figure in black standing over him, a silvery-brass spade symbol on his chest.

He tried to spring out of bed for self preservation but a hand came around the front of his neck and something jabbed into his chest.

The Side was still hazy with sleep, trying to kick the person off. The pain became even more intense until something inside Orange just seemed to snap free and then the Side was gone. Spade kneeling over the couch with a metronome pendulum in his hand.

The Suit reached down to the ground where the rest of the metronome was and carefully, delicately slid the weight back on and placed the pendulum inside its orange casing. Little symbols along the back of it to keep the Side trapped inside.

The instant Spade took his hand off the pendulum swung angrily, clearly trying to escape, bringing a distorted chuckle from Spade. “There we go, safe and sound.”

Spade got and took the metronome with him. In a couple hours he’d have a staff and a buckle with him. Three Sides locked up.

__ _ “Safe” _ and sound.

_ End of Sequence _

_ Conclusion: Mission successful. _


	5. The Ace of Diamonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A thread to cut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Requested by an anon user on Tumblr.

_ Date Archived: March 5, X _

_ Uploading information _

_ Starting sequence _

A digital clock ticked down as it flipped the number to 1:00.

It had been a peaceful night, J.J was resting peacefully.

A ripple of time touched the room and J.J bolted awake in bed. He’d pushed his aura and his manipulation of time to almost his maximum. It was as far back as he could push himself and he’d reset so many times.

J.J hit the ground and struggled to try and pick himself up.

“Where do you think you’re going?” A distorted voice told J.J and the time traveler looked up in panic and frustration at the figure in black with a silvery-brass diamond on his chest. The figure blending into the darkness.

He’d never been followed before. Attacked, kidnapped, dragged off, and silenced . . . but he’d never been followed into his own bedroom.

“All you had to do was help us,” Diamond pushed J.J over with his foot, pinning him down with a foot to the center of the mute’s chest. “That’s all you had to do.”

J.J spat in Diamond’s direction. The Suit knelt down and grabbed J.J by the lapels and there was a strong burst of magic, and J.J was gone. Diamond left alone in the room.

He let out a sigh of relief and his suit vibrated before he looked like J.J.

Diamond smiled and pulled the diamond shaped communicator further up his wrist so he could hide it behind his sleeve.

Then he went to sleep in J.J’s bed, only to hear a knocking at the door. It opened and it was Chase. Which made sense, Chase was in the neighboring room and the walls weren’t exactly soundproof.

“Yah [1] okay?” Chase asked.

_ “J.J”  _ turned on the light, acting groggy and disoriented.

“Oh sorry,” Chase apologized. “I just heard some noises.”

__ _ “Tired,” _ Diamond signed in BSL, taping his hands messily to his chest and rolling them.

“Yeah, I’ll just let yeh [1] sleep then,” Chase began to back out but Diamond managed a slow response.

__ _ “How are you?” _ Diamonds signed, pretending to be far more tired than he was. J.J would ask, so he needed to.

“I’m fine,” Chase dismissed. “Go back ta bed, I’ll talk ta yah in the mornin’.” [2]

__ _ “Yes,” _ Diamond signed and then turned off the light.

Chase gave a quick  _ “goodnight” _ and closed the door. The room got dark again.

Diamond waited quietly for a minute before reaching over to the nightstand and pocketed J.J’s phone before leaning into his communicator, “I’m in.”

__ _ “Excellent,” _ Spade answered.  _ “Communicate only when safe, when the base is functional I will signal you.” _

Diamond turned off the communicator and tucked into J.J’s bed for — what was to him — a well-deserved rest.

And when  _ “J.J” _ went into the common room to get his morning tea the other heroes were none the wiser.

_ End of Sequence _

_ Conclusion: With J.J removed from the heroes the first layer of defense is peeled away. Ensuring more freedom of movement. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Accessibility Translations  
> 1\. You  
> 2\. Go back to bed, I’ll talk to you in the morning.


	6. The Jack of Hearts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Integration: 100% complete.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Requested by an anon user on Tumblr.

_ Date Archived: May 6, X _

_ Uploading information _

_ Starting sequence _

Ethan walked in with the groceries. He’d somehow managed to pull out all six with just two hands, and now he was feeling pretty proud of himself.

“Spencer!” Ethan called out into the apartment as he kicked the door closed. “We’re eating good tonight!”

But the tell-tale sign of the clicking of claws on the wooden floor was absent.

“Spenc?” Ethan called out, figuring he was asleep or curled up somewhere.

But he heard a barking somewhere in his house and looked to see Spencer in his kennel and the kennel was in a different room that he usually had it.

“Hey boy, how’s you get yourself in there?” Ethan asked in concern, realizing as he flicked the light on that Spencer had his leash and collar on. “Why—”

Before Ethan could unlatch the kennel, he was suddenly elbowed across the face. The hit literally came from nowhere.

Ethan was used to fights, being the quick and agile underestimated opponent, he’d never been on the receiving end of it.

Blindsighted and dazed, Ethan’s back hit the floor and he was struck in the chest. In the back of Ethan’s ringing over stimulated brain he could hear Spencer growling and barking.

He turned invisible when he hit the ground, trying to get his second wind and roll away, but a foot came down hard on his stomach.

“ _ Uh, uh, _ where do you think you’re going?”

Ethan looked up and saw what he thought was his own face looking back at him, his own voice speaking to him. Or it could be a concussion, he wasn’t sure which.

Spencer was barking and growling, trying to get out of his kennel.

Then in an instant the image changed to a figure in all black with a silvery-brass heart insignia on the front.

“Don’t worry, I’ll put those away and take care of Spencer,” Hearts told Ethan. “I just need you to go away for about two weeks.”

He then stuck a dart in Ethan’s shoulder and held him down until he slumped into unconsciousness.

Hearts checked his pulse, nudged him a couple times and pulled an eye open for a second to check that Ethan was completely asleep.

Standing up, Hearts tapped his heart shaped communicator on and said, “Hey Spade, you done?”

There was a blood curdling scream on the other side before a very familiar voice came from the other side,  _ “I trust you’re done? We will be by in about a half-hour to pick him up, be ready.” _

“Sounds good to me, over and out,” Hearts answered, the call ended and once he was in the clear he muttered, “Uptight fucker.”

After that the Hearts cuffed Ethan, tied him up. He cleaned up the kitchen and put the grocery bags away, and then dragged Spencer’s kennel towards the front door. The dog tried to bite his fingers a couple times but Hearts’s suit kept him from getting any damage.

Hearts made himself look like Ethan again, in case anyone other than Spade walked in. He made himself a coffee, glancing over to check on the real Ethan and then eventually when the door opened and he saw Spade, disguised as Logan, Hearts hurried to open the door and let him in.

“Hey buddy,” Hearts saw the large blue solid state drive in his hand, three little charms attached to the drive. One charm had a red shield with a castle and a sword, one was a golden heart with little glasses, and the third a thundercloud with a bolt of lightning. “Let’s get this shitshow on the road.”

Hearts and Spade transported the real Ethan in a large body bag, placing him in the back of the Sides’ car, a mesh hole in the side of the bag so air wouldn’t be even slightly restricted.

And when the real Ethan woke up it was in a strange building and a soul-deep worry about what had happened to his dog.

_ End of Sequence _

_ Conclusion: Phase One completed. Phase Two underway. _


	7. King of Spades

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Janus and Spade have an actual discussion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Requested by DorkSpader on AO3
> 
> Warning for kidnapping mention.

_Date Archived: April 4, X_

_Uploading information_

_Starting sequence_

_“_ _You’re not Logan! Who are you?”_

 _“_ _I can’t afford to have you running around and ruining things.”_

 _“_ _Dee!”_

_. . . . . ._

Janus came in and out of consciousness while he was trapped in his own staff. Which he didn’t even know had been possible.

Being awake, he felt every second and tried to escape. He couldn’t see or feel but he could hear. The deceitful Side was locked behind a glass case and there was nothing he could use to either break the cane or rip off whatever was adhering him to the cane.

Being asleep was blissful. He felt nothing, and it relieved every migraine he felt while being conscious. At this point whenever he woke up, he tried to get back to that unconscious state, but each time he woke up it was getting harder.

Janus only knew that Orange and Remus were nearby. Orange because of the ticking of the metronome, which only gave Janus more of a migraine when he was conscious. And Remus because Spade had told him. A worry while conscious was that he couldn’t feel or hear Remus. It was just Spade, one of the Suits walking in to talk with him, and Orange’s _incessant ticking!_

The deceitful Side was unconscious when he was jarred back to wakefulness. He actually felt something, in that he was shaken before he felt the rush of air into his lungs and a sensation of feeling at his fingertips.

It was so reliving and so overwhelming that it stunned Janus long enough for Spade to tighten magic chains, binding Janus to a chair in the center of an enchanted circle that kept him from shapeshifting.

“Enjoy your nap?” Spade’s distorted voice greeted him.

Janus hissed at Spade, his spit turning venomous in his anger.

Spade just laughed at him, waving his hand and the chain glowed before giving Janus a warning jolt of electricity. It hurt, but nowhere enough to kill him.

Janus was reflexively coughing when it was done as Spade walked back to his desk. The Side looked up at his kidnapper, “What do you want? I would already be dead if you meant to kill me.”

“You are right on that count,” Spade answered. “You are far more useful to me alive, than dead.”

“And what use do I have for you then?” Janus hissed.

Spade was watching him as he spoke, the mask keeping Janus from getting a read on his mood.

“You’ve made things exceedingly difficult for me,” Spade commented instead of directly answering. “But that’s alright, you didn’t know. I’m here to fix it.”

Janus fell silent at that. There were too many variables. Too much he didn’t know about the situation. He couldn’t see a door. He didn’t know where the other Dark Sides were. Even if Orange had tried to kill Logan, he had left all of them alone for months, he didn’t deserve to be left behind.

Once he was confident in his tone, Janus asked, “Where’s the Duke?”

“Oh, Remus?” Spade corrected and he walked around Janus. The deceitful Side saw a tall, thin, glass cabinet with three items in it: a ticking metronome, his cane, and Remus’s belt buckle.

He also saw a door. Janus didn’t know where it led to, or if it was just a closet, but it was a door!

Spade took out the buckle and closed the cabinet door. He slowly, too slowly, walked back and held the buckle in front of Janus. “I wouldn’t worry about your boyfriend, he’s sleeping. Took a bit to get him to go to sleep, but I figured it would be better. That you would appreciate it.”

“Why would I appreciate anything you do?” Janus dared.

The Suit waved his hand and chains shot out of the floor and ceiling to suspend Remus’s buckle right in front of Janus’s face. “Because I could torture him in front of you. I know the Duke has a high tolerance for pain, I even know that he finds personal pleasure in it. But I could wake him up, I could show him things and do things to him that he would not enjoy. Things he wouldn’t find pleasure in.”

“Enough!” Janus cried out, trying to keep a tone of desperation out of his voice. He could envision Remus’s peacefully sleeping face in his mind. “You haven’t told me what you want.”

Spade took the buckle out of its hold, but kept it in his hands. “I’m going to say some words, and you are going to answer them, I don’t care if you’re being truthful or not, my scans and readings will give me the answer I want anyways.”

Janus looked at the buckle in his hand and swallowed his barbed comment. “Fine.”

“Excellent,” Spade praised, the word almost feeling like a slap across his face. “Now what color is the sky?”

The deceitful Side wanted this person dead. “Blue.”

“That was a little bit of a muddied question,” Spade remarked. “Your birthday is February 3?”

“No,” Janus lied.

Spade seemed to hum noncommittally.

“Your name is Janus.” Spade’s head tilted to the left ever so slightly.

“No.” Janus felt distinctly like he was being mentally picked apart.

“Who would you say is the most powerful Side?” Spade asked. “Not in terms of leadership skills or the power that Patton and Roman have to make the public love them. I mean raw, magical _potential._ Which is it?”

Red flags went up in Janus’s mind. He managed a sly smile. “I am. My illusions are unparalleled.”

The Suit’s fingers started tapping dangerously on Remus’s buckle. “You and I know that’s not true. Remus is Remus, and Orange squanders his magic on his own laziness and apathy. So it leaves the other four. Is it Patton’s infectious empathy? Roman’s sense of imagination? Virgil’s fear powers? Or did you all lie to Logan and tell him his superpower was his intelligence and not something more powerful?”

“The others have no drive to make their powers any stronger,” Janus reminded. The answer lodged in his throat, and he desperately hoped it would stay there, or he could figuratively swallow it down further from Spade’s insidious grasp. “They’re not willing to do what it takes to make themselves stronger.”

Spade observed him for a bit, the tapping on the buckle stopping.

“I suppose you are right on that front,” Spade allowed, walking back to the case and putting Remus’s buckle back inside.

Janus held in his sigh of relief. None of them were safe yet. Spade took the staff out.

“Deceit is quite the interesting title,” Spade walked back to stand in front of him. “Did you come up with it yourself?”

“Of course,” Janus answered, “really rolls off the tongue.”

“Of course,” Spade parroted. Then he leaned close to Janus’s human side ear, as if to whisper a secret. “I already know it’s Virgil.”

Before the alarm could set in, the flat of his staff was pressed to Janus’s back and with a flash of magic Janus was gone and the chains cascaded to the ground with a loud _CLINK._

Spade quickly applied some tape with some writing around the pole of the staff and then casually placed it back in its case.

The cabinet gave an angry shake, for a bit as Spade walked over to his computer and turned onto a news feed and began looking for recent stories of the Sides. In the first one he found was of Patton. The Side was talking energetically to some reporter as Virgil hid behind him.

Spade was watching news streams of the Sides as he was working on one of his many projects. In the background he had a program analyzing everything the Sides did. Virgil was the hardest for the program to read since he tended to use the other Sides or his hood as a protective shield. So Spade had to go in and personally take those notes.

The only sounds that accompanied the streams was the clatter of the glass cabinet, the ticking of a metronome, and a light _hiss_ of a solder iron.

_End of Sequence_

_Conclusion: Janus is easier to bait than predicted._


	8. The Four of Clubs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dark is ambushed by hunters when someone comes to his unneeded rescue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Requested by DorkSpader on AO3.

_ Date Archived: March 26, X _

_ Uploading information _

_ Starting sequence _

Dark was walking through his city. His initial goal was to look for errant demon hunters and minor demons. Right now he was just enjoying the crisp night air and the silence left in Dark wake because no one in their right mind messed with Dark when he was in a shadowy alleyway.

No one except for the demon hunters. Which the instant Dark casually strolled into another deserted alley, about six of them surrounded him.

The Entity looked around to see a circle of mages. A smile forming on his face. He might be in his blue soul form but he’d gone looking for more hunters.

“You’re too easy to bait,” Dark smiled.

“Drop the host so we can properly dispose of him,” one of the hunters ordered.

Dark lunged for the hunters, making short work of two of them before he was hit by a couple magical blasts. It was barely a scratch against his aura.

But that didn’t matter when a bullet pierced through one of the hunters’ skulls as Dark killed another hunter.

Then he felt two bullets fire, mere millimeters from cutting into his aura. He could almost taste the magic on those bullets and the last two hunters dropped. Death fanned out around Dark, but the Entity almost completely unscathed.

Dark’s blue soul perked up almost like a dog.

He glanced around and saw a figure in all black, almost completely swallowed in the darkness, the silver-brass clubs insignia on the figure’s chest.

He was standing on the fire escape of the nearby building, lowering the gun he was holding and casually taking off the silencer on it. They clearly didn’t see Dark as a threat.

Which bothered Dark for a myriad of reasons.

“I suppose you want a thank you,” Dark’s aura curled in to protect himself in case of an attack.

Clubs holstered his gun and held up his hands and said with his distorted voice, “No charge necessary.”

“I didn’t need your help,” Dark reminded curtly, doing his best to keep his tone even.

“I know,” Clubs agreed, vaulting himself down from the fire escape and landing perfectly. “As I said, no payment necessary.”

“I highly doubt that,” Dark commented skeptically.

“For now we have the same enemies,” Clubs told him. “I suspect we will for a good while.”

“How fortunate,” Dark said carefully, and Clubs walked away, stepping over the bodies.

“You might want to leave, Spade likes to harvest aura and I know he’s nearby,” Clubs warned, leaving the alley.

Dark minded his warning leaving to try and follow Clubs but the Suit had disappeared into the night.

_ End of Sequence _

_ Conclusion: Dark is not a current threat to the mission. Clubs can continue playing his games _


	9. The Ten of Clubs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Masquerade, hide your face so the world may never find you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Requested by DorkSpader on AO3  
>  Summary comes from the song Masquerade from The Phantom of the Opera.

_ Date Archived: March 30, X _

_ Uploading information _

_ Starting sequence _

It was an evening gala. A masked ball.

Wilford was giddy with excitement.

Dark didn’t like coming to these, as himself or Damien. But he needed to make an appearance and was in a good mood. Plus he’d caught wind that some heroes would be in attendance and he didn’t want them to just arrest all his contacts.

So Wil and Dark came to it. Dark was almost positive that Illinois and the Host were in the crowd, his reasoning was because their bronze stars were nearby.

Wilford’s mask was a pink and dusty brown with five-petaled pink flowers whose curly stems seemed to grow out of the mask. While Dark had a black swan mask with a large black feather that when he turned his head one way looked red and if he turned another it looked blue.

The party was a swath of people all in masks. People dancing and drinking and laughing.

“Isn’t this a lively party?” Wil smiled, a martini in hand as he leaned against Dark. Dark was sitting at one of the tables that were on raised platforms overlooking the dance floor.

“Too lively,” Dark grumbled, flicking his hand and using one of his portals to save one of his contacts from getting grabbed by someone who was clearly Marvin because his masquerade mask was too much like his usual superhero mask to even attempt subtlety.

“Oh, I know,” Wil decided after failing to get a drink out his martini for a minute or two. “We could have a dance.”

“There is not a chance I am flailing around down there like a buffoon,” Dark denied.

“Oh come on, ol’ chap,” Wil set his glass down and stood up, offering his hand to Dark. “Let’s charm their socks off.”

“If you leave me alone down there I will destroy you,” Dark warned, taking his hand.

“That’s the spirit,” Wilford winked and started to lead Dark down to the floor.

To Dark it was uncomfortably crowded but he found that when he focused on Wil everything was bearable, as most things were when the madman was around.

The music was easy enough to dance to, his red and blue souls supplied the information on what to do with his feet and arms as Wil kinda led them in lazy circles with the occasional soft spins.

Then at the height of one of the songs Dark physically felt the crowd start to push in on the fringes of his aura. The pushing got Dark distracted and his feet faltered, and then he felt Wil being ripped out of his hands and almost being consumed by the body of the crowd as if some hypnotic spell had them in sway but there was an untouched ring around Dark in the center of the dance floor.

“Lost your dance partner?”

Dark recognized Clubs’s altered tone and turned expecting to see the figure he was used to tailing and observing from a distance.

The Suit had on a black suit with a golden paisley vest. Covering his hands were a pair of black gloves with silver clubs symbols on them. His mask was a silver and gold mask with clubs symbols on them. For the first time Dark could actually identify things about the Suit. He had lighter skin and a thick beard that wasn’t completely covered by the mask.

“What happened to your usual outfit?” Dark asked.

“Trust me, you are not the person the disguise is for,” Clubs told Dark.

“I don’t trust you,” Dark responded, looking into the dancing crowd. “Where’s Wil?”

“Probably getting drunk,” Clubs told him dismissively, looking over into the crowd as the music changed to a new song.

“I saw him getting pulled away,” Dark reminded.

“He’s left you at a party for less,” Clubs shrugged, which managed to unsettle Dark. “While we’re waiting, would you like to dance?”

“Why would I dance with you?” Dark demanded coldly.

Clubs smiled, it was a sharp smile that Dark knew he couldn’t trust.

“Absolutely not,” Dark warned. “I don’t trust you. I don’t even know you.”

“Oh but you do,” Clubs told him. “You and I know each other very well.”

That gave Dark some pause, because he made a point not to remember people, especially post Manor. This wasn’t the Actor. So the chances of this being another demon he had dealings with in the past was almost a certainty.

“Whatever pact we formed in the past is dead,” Dark warned aggressively, aura coiling around fingertips to either shield him or to attack with.

“I know you won’t heed this warning, but you might want to consider a vacation of sorts,” Clubs told Dark calmly. “You, the family, and that bubblegum bastard you call a boyfriend.”

“I’m not about to do anything you tell me to do,” Dark informed. “You can crawl back to hell where you belong.”

Clubs let out a distorted chuckle, “Well I tried, don’t worry we’ll be seeing each other shortly.”

Dark watched him meld back into the crowd as Wilford shoved his way through.

“Dark,” Wil came to stand next to Dark and looked into the crowd at where Clubs had disappeared off to. The crowd started to thin out. “Was that charming gent a friend of yours?”

“No,” Dark told Wil. “Let’s find the boys, we’re leaving, now.”

“The party seems to be getting good,” Wil frowned.

“Now Wil!” Dark ordered and the madman rolled his eyes but followed after Dark as the Entity grabbed Illinois and the Host and took them back to the Manor.

Missing the Suit sitting up at the table Dark and Wil had been sitting at before, watching them leave. His fingers drumming angrily on the table.

The Suit’s dance had been denied, but the night was not a complete failure for him. A certain amount of urgency had been placed in Dark’s mind. A danger more real to him that missing people, dead demon hunters, or stolen magical artifacts.

Spade might chew him out for his carelessness, but when Clubs went back to the base he would smile about being closer to Dark than he’d been in quite some time.

_ End of Sequence _

_ Conclusion: Clubs has stepped up the timetable, allowances must be made to compensate in the plan. _

**Author's Note:**

> Additional chapters will be determined depending on the cards requested. These chapters may take anywhere from a couple hours to a couple days depending on the card.  
> Hope you all like this little project.  
> A specific card can only be selected once.  
> Additionally if a card is chosen and comes out on a Friday, birthday, or holiday that short will come out and so will the drawn card, if that makes any sense.


End file.
